Display cabinet



J. FRIER March 3, 1931.

Filed Feb. 25, 1926 Patented Mar. 3, 193i y JOHN FRER, F UNIVERSITY CITY, MISSOURI DISPLAY CABINET .Application filed February 23, 1926. Serial No. 89,916.

My invention relates to display cabinets and more particularly to display cabinets which are adapted to be placed on aV re counter so that .the goods contained therein will be brought te the attention of custommerchandise but no cabinet has heretofore been devised which is adapted to contain a plurality of styles or sizes of a unit of inerchandise and which will display the different styles oi' sizes of these units so that a customer may easily make his selection without removing the merchandise from the cabinet and yet the article selected may be quickly and easily delivered by the sales clerk. Some of these cabinets have been made with a glass panel in the top or front thereof and with a compartment, separate from the rest of the interior of the cabinet, formed adjacent this transparent panel and adapted to receive for display the various styles of merchandise. This construction is objectionable for two reasons, namely, first because the clerk must either turn the cabinet or must go to the front of the counter to see which unit is selected by the customer; and, second, because usually all or a large part of the merchandise must be removed from the cabinet to find particular style or size wanted. n

The object of my invention is to provide a cabinet which is of an attractive design, which permits an easy inspection .and selection of any one of the styles and sizes of the merchandise contained therein, and which also permits easy withdrawal of the merchandise from the cabinet after a selection of a certain style and size has been made by the customer. Y

Vith these and other objects in mind my invention is fully shown in the accompanyf ing drawings wherein similar letters are used to designate similar parts: Fig. lis a perspec-Y tive view of the front of one embodiment of my new and improved display cabinet when in use; Fig. 2 is a back View; and Fig. 3 shows in detail a unit of merchandise to be displayed in the cabinet.

Referring to the figures, A is a casing which has a transparent top` and frontand which is preferably made of glass or other transparent material. rihis casin g is open at its back as shown in Fig. 2 and, preferably, has the front, top, bottom and ends formed integral with one another. On the bottom of the casing are'feet B, preferably tipped with rubber or felt, by which the casing is normally supported when placed on a counter. The interior of the casing A is divided into a plurality of compartments preferably by means of a plurality of separably removable containers C whichare adapted to littherein and be moved into or out of the casing through the v,open back thereof.,4 As clearly shown in Fig.

2, when all of thecontainers are in place in the casingritheir backs forni a back wall for the casing." Also, when one of the containers is removed from the casing the'adjacent side walls of the adjacent containers keep dust and dirt from entering the containerswhich are left in the casing because of the close fit, as shown in the drawing,` between the side walls of the containers and the innerv surfaces ofthe top, front and bottom of the casing. Each of the containers C is open at its top and front as shown in Fig'. rl and Yis adapted tocontain a number of pairs of shoe laces D or other units of merchandise. To more clearly show the device and to avoid confusion in the drawings only one of tliecontainers C is shown lilled 'With merchandise in each of Figs. l and 2.- rlhe containers@ are each provided with a knob` E which may be gripped when the con-v tainers are moved. 0n the front of the casing A- is arranged as at F, the naine, brand, and trade-mark under which the goods are sold. The letters and lines are preferably either cut in the transparent material of rwhich the front of the casing is made or formed so as toproject outwardly from the front andfinade of transparent material for the purpose hereinafter set forth. y

I prefer that each of the containers be filled with adifterent type of the units of merchandise to be displayed in the cabinet,that is, that the units of merchandise are of different size; style or color, and that two groups of indicia designating the type of the unit of merchandise be placed thereon. As stated above, in this embodiment of my invention the containers C are filled with pairs of shoe laces and each pair of shoe laces, as shown in detail in Fig. 3, is wrapped with a band G which has the size of the shoe laces within the band printed thereon at H and H and With the group of indicia designating the size at H inverted with respect to the indicia at H. The color and style of the shoe laces is shown by the parts of the laces which project out past the ends of the sides of the band.

The use of my device isras follows: Each of the containers C is lled with units of merchandise which, as I have stated above, I A prefer to be of different sizes or styles with only one size or style of the units of merchandise in each container. The merchandise is placed in the container so that one of the groupsof indicia designating Athe type will be readable from 'the front of the cabinet, as shown in Fig. l, and the other group of indicia will be readable from the back of the container, as shown in Fig. 2. Since the top .and Vfront of the casing A are transparent and each of the containers C is Open at its top and front the merchandise `in the container Will always be visible from above and in front thereof without withdrawing the container from the cabinet, thereby obviating the necessity of removing the merchandise.

from the ycabinet and preventing it from being soiled by settling dust or by handling. Since the letters and lines formed on the front of the display cabinet at F are transparent, all as described above, they will not interfere with the visibility.

I do not intend to limit my invention to the exact details o-f construction shown in the drawings. The form and shape of the casing A andthe containers C may be varied within wide limits as hereinafter claimed without deviating from the spirit of'myinvention. Likewise, the containers@ may be adapted to hold many different types of merchandise, and if the containers are filled with units; of merchandise which vary greatly in style or color it may be necessary to also have on each unit or on the wrapping thereof indicia arranged as described above to indicate thestyle or color thereof.

What I claim as new anc by Letters Patent, is n l. A display cabinet comprising a casing having an open back and also a top and desire to secure front formed of transparent material, a ,plu-

rality of containers fitted into the interior of said casing and dividing said interior into a plurality of compartments, each ofV said containers being adapted and arranged to hold merchandise and each having back, bot-z tom and side walls and being open at its top and-front, and saidside Walls being con-V structed and fitted to substantially prevent the passage of dirt and dust Ybetween saidV Walls and the inner surfaces of the top, front and bottom of said casing.

2. A display cabinet comprising a casing having an open back and also having integral top, front and end Walls of transpar ent material, a plurality of separably removable containers fitted into the interior of said casing and dividing said interior into a plurality of compartments, each of said containers vbeing adapted and arranged to hold merchandise and `each having back, bottom and side walls and being open at its top and front, and said side walls being constructed and fitted to substantially prevent the passage odirt and dust between said walls and the inner surfaces of the top, front and lbottom of said casing.

In witness'whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

` JOHN FRIER. 

